MU Ancilla Men's Soccer Coach Tyler Born has had a very solid first season as a head coach, leading the Chargers to an 8-3-2 record which includes 4-3 in the conference. The team's success has led Born and his guys to the Region XII Tournament where they will face off with a very familiar foe, the Muskegon Jayhawks. The Chargers and Jayhawks will square off for the 3rd time in 24 days, this particular match-up will be the most pressure-filled as it will take place in the post-season. The two teams are set to face each other on Friday at 1:30 PM at St. Clair who is hosting this years' Region Tournament.
The two MCCAA competitors have become very familiar with each other in the month of October, starting with an October 5th match-up hosted by Muskegon which ended in a 2-2 draw. In that game, Brian Nieves and Bryce Taberski were able to find the back of the net for the Chargers in the first half to match two Jayhawk goals. The second half ended with both teams scoreless, resulting in the 2-2 draw. The teams matched up again on October 22nd, this time ending with a 2-1 win for Muskegon despite a Charger goal from Enrique Macias.
After two very tightly contested contests, Coach Born feels confident in the necessary game plan to lead his team to a win.
"Our guys are very excited to play against a very tough Muskegon team. Playing a team 3 times in less than a month poses an interesting challenge for both teams but I have no doubt that both teams will be ready to play in what should be a very close contest. We are going to have to play fast, control the tempo, and remain focused for the full match. If we are able to do those things, I believe we will have a very good chance to advance."
When asked about advancing to post-season play in his first year as head coach, Born talked about being proud of his guys. "Our guys trained very hard from the first day of camp with the goal in mind of advancing to the post-season. It is a hard-working group who is a lot of fun to be around each day. They have made my job as a first-year head coach much easier and I appreciate that very much. We are hoping to play our best this weekend and see where that takes us."
